Hebrews 9:27 (NKJV) And as it is appointed unto men once to die, but after this the judgement.
There are two kinds of death: physical and spiritual death. Unless we are born again, we will face these two kinds of deaths. Those who do not have Christ in their lives will experience spiritual death because they will be eternally separated from God. However, once we are born again, our names will be recorded in the Book of Life, we will be sealed with the Holy Spirit, and spend eternity with God even after our physical death. Therefore, even though we have no control over when we will die physically, we can choose not to be separated from God spiritually by accepting Jesus Christ as our Lord and Saviour!
It is God who gives us life. God created man from the earth, and life didn’t come into the being until God breathed into it. God is Spirit, and we are also spirit beings. The body without the spirit is dead. The spirit being will depart from the body and live for eternity. Ironically, many people spend vast amounts of money on their physical bodies. Sadly, our bodies will return to dust one day, and interestingly, our spirit beings will have a perfect resemblance to our physical beings, regardless of the plastic surgery one has done. Similarly, many of us spend much time developing our intellect, which is in the realm of our souls, but have neglected the spirit man.
If we refer to Luke 16:19-31 regarding the rich ruler and Lazarus, we will realise that the senses of spirit beings last forever—they can see, and hear. The rich man remembered that he had brothers on earth, felt thirsty, and sensed the heat in Hades, even though his body had been buried. The fact that the spirit’s senses last beyond our death should aid us in our understanding of what it means to be led by the Spirit of God in our hearts.
Therefore, the best thing that you can do for our children is not to give them the best education, and the best way to honour our parents is not to give them the best gifts and holidays, because if they have not responded to the Gospel, they will enter a Christless eternity when they die, and be forever condemned! Jesus is the only way, the truth, and life. We certainly do not want them to perish and spend eternity without Christ, and we would want them to enjoy the abundant life on earth now.
There is an eternity. One can either spend it in the presence of God or be separated from Him forever. We must make the decision ourselves and make the good news known to our loved ones so that they can also make the right decision.
Sermon Series: God’s Compelling Love
肉体和灵性上的死亡
希伯来书9:27 按着定命,人人都有一死,死后且有审判。
死亡有两种:肉体上的死亡和灵性上的死亡。 除非我们重生,否则我们将面临这两种死亡。 那些生命中没有基督的人将会经历灵性上的死亡,因为他们将永远与神隔绝。 然而,一旦我们重生,我们的名字将被记在生命册上,我们有圣灵为印记,即使我们的肉体死了,我们也会与神在永恒里相遇。 因此,尽管我们无法决定自己的肉体何时死亡,但我们可以藉着接受耶稣基督为我们的主和救主来选择不在灵里与神隔绝!
是神赐予我们生命。 神用地上的尘土造人,直到神吹了一口生气后人才有了生命。 神是灵,我们也成为有灵的生命体。 没有灵的肉体是死的。 灵会离开肉体并永远活着。 讽刺的是,许多人在自己的肉体上花费了大量的金钱。 可悲的是,我们的身体总有一天会归于尘土,有趣的是,无论做了什么整容手术,我们的灵都将与我们的肉体完全的相似。 同样,我们许多人花了大量时间来开发我们灵魂领域的智力,但却忽视了灵人。
如果我们参考路加福音16章19-31节关于财主和拉撒路的故事,我们就会意识到灵性上的感官是永远存在的——他们能看也能听。 尽管财主的尸体已经被埋葬了,他能想起他在地上有兄弟、感到口渴和感觉到阴间的炎热。灵性上的感知在我们死后仍然存在的事实应该有助于我们理解在我们在心中被上帝的灵引导意味着什么。
因此,你能为孩子做的最好的事情不是给他们最好的教育,而孝敬父母的最好方式也不是给他们最好的礼物和假期,因为如果他们没有回应福音, 他们死后将进入没有基督的永恒里,并永远被定罪! 耶稣是唯一的道路、真理和生命。 我们当然不希望他们灭亡并在没有基督的情况下度过永恒,我们希望他们当下就能享受世上丰盛的生命。
永恒是存在的。 人可以在上帝的同在里度过它或永远与祂隔绝。 我们必须自己做出决定,并让我们所爱的人知道这个好消息,以便他们也能做出正确的决定。
讲章系列:上帝激励我们的爱
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